Entry to the Oasis Aquatic Centre will be free on Wednesday (7 January) and is looking likely to be no-cost on 8-9 January too, as temperatures are expected to exceed 41C in Wagga Wagga on all three days. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Wagga’s Oasis Aquatic Centre is set to offer free entry to the public from Wednesday to Friday this week if current temperature predictions are met.
A policy introduced by Wagga Wagga City Council in 2019 means that Oasis will be free to the public for any day forecast to exceed 41 degrees by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) at 2 pm on the previous day.
Griffith Mayor Doug Curran said his town was set to follow suit by offering free entry to the Griffith Regional Aquatic Leisure Centre.
As of 2 pm on Tuesday (6 January), BoM was expecting the mercury in Wagga Wagga and Griffith to exceed 41 degrees Celsius every day from Wednesday to Friday this week.
While the free day is currently only confirmed for Wednesday, Wagga Wagga City Council will continue to update the public on whether centre entry is free the following day at 2 pm on the day before.
Wagga Leisure manager Marc Geppert said the Oasis was well equipped for the number of people expected to take advantage of the free admission days.
“We’re going to rely on the patrons to follow the instructions of our staff on the days we do have a capacity limit of 550, so we’ll be closely monitoring that capacity,” he said.
“Every 30 minutes, our lifeguards do a head count. So obviously, hopefully we don’t get to that capacity, because we want people to be able to come in and enjoy the facilities rather than lining up outside, but we will be close to monitoring that.
“We just obviously want our patrons to use common sense, drink plenty of water and just follow the instructions of our staff.”
Mr Geppert said all sections of the centre would be accessible during the free admission days, and that there was no specific time during which the free entry applied.
“We have plenty of kids’ spaces here, but we’ve also got the 25-metre, the 50-metre, and the hydrotherapy pools,” he said.
”So there’s dedicated spaces for anyone who wants to come down during those three days.”
In a Facebook post, Councillor Curran announced his town would also be responding to the heatwave.
“Griffith City Council will have some measures coming out shortly in regard to the pending severe weather Griffith and surrounds will endure over the next three days,” he said.
”This will include free entry to the pool and the sports centre in West End. Also, an encouragement to community members to utilise the library should they not have sufficient cooling in the residence.”
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District has already declared a heatwave for the remainder of the week and is advising Riverina residents to remain cautious.
“A prolonged period of heat is forecast to build over southern, central and western NSW this week,” MLHD’s Public Health Unit director Alison Nikitas said.
“Maximum forecast temperatures in the high thirties to low forties across the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, peaking later in the week.
“Overnight forecast minimum temperatures reaching low to mid-twenties. For information on staying safe during a heatwave, go to the NSW Health web page here.”
From Wednesday to Friday, Wagga’s Oasis Aquatic Centre, at 50 Morgan Street, will be open from 6 am to 9 pm. The Griffith Regional Aquatic Leisure Centre, at 5 Wayeela St, will be open from 9 am to 8 pm.
